It wants to begin to shake off the stigma of Apartheid, and so it has. It wants to be recognized among the industrialized First World nations and in fact it is the second most prosperous nation in all of Africa. It wants to address income inequality and political corruption but it has a very long road to walk on these difficult issues. It also wants to move from the bottom to the top in the fight against HIV/AIDS and it has been making great strides in achieving this goal.

In short, South Africa is a vibrant young nation with extremely diverse cultures that are rediscovering how to work in harmony and the faces of its children represent that vibrancy and hope even in the midst of sometimes oppressive poverty.